Latest Articles
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTemperature, by Controlling Growth Rate, Regulates CRISPR-Cas Activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosaP. aeruginosa is a soil dwelling bacterium and a plant pathogen, and it also causes life-threatening infections in humans. Thus, P. aeruginosa thrives in diverse environments and over a broad range of temperatures. Some P. aeruginosa...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyPosttranscriptional Regulation of HIV-1 Gene Expression during Replication and Reactivation from Latency by Nuclear Matrix Protein MATR3The life cycle of HIV-1 requires integration of a DNA copy into the genome of the host cell. Transcription of the viral genes generates RNAs that are exported to the cytoplasm with the contribution of viral and cellular factors to get translated or incorporated in the newly synthesized virions. It has been observed that highly effective antiretroviral therapy, which is able to reduce circulating virus to undetectable levels, cannot...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDrivers and Dynamics of Methicillin-Resistant Livestock-Associated Staphylococcus aureus CC398 in Pigs and Humans in DenmarkLivestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clonal complex CC398 (LA-MRSA CC398) is resistant to nearly all β-lactams and several non-β-lactam antimicrobials. Over the last decade, it has become widespread in pig farms across Europe and is now an important cause of human infections in countries with previously low levels of MRSA, such as the...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyPAS Domain Protein Pas3 Interacts with the Chromatin Modifier Bre1 in Regulating Cryptococcal MorphogenesisFor the ubiquitous environmental pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, the morphological transition from yeast to filament confers resistance to natural predators like soil amoeba and is an integral differentiation event to produce infectious spores. Interestingly, filamentation is immuno-stimulatory and attenuates cryptococcal virulence in a mammalian host. Consistently...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologySalmonella enterica Serovar Typhi in Bangladesh: Exploration of Genomic Diversity and Antimicrobial ResistanceTyphoid fever, caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, is responsible for an estimated burden of approximately 17 million new episodes per year worldwide. Adequate and timely antimicrobial treatment invariably cures typhoid fever. The increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of S. Typhi severely limits the treatment options. We studied whole-genome...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyChanges in Endosymbiont Complexity Drive Host-Level Compensatory Adaptations in CicadasSap-feeding insects critically rely on one or more bacteria or fungi to provide essential nutrients that are not available at sufficient levels in their diets. These microbes are passed between insect generations when the mother places a small packet of microbes into each of her eggs before it is laid. We have previously described an unusual lineage fragmentation process in a nutritional endosymbiotic bacterium of cicadas called ...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyA Small Regulatory RNA Controls Cell Wall Biosynthesis and Antibiotic ResistanceThe alphaproteobacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens is able to infect various eudicots causing crown gall tumor formation. Based on its unique ability of interkingdom gene transfer, Agrobacterium serves as a crucial biotechnological tool for genetic manipulation of plant cells. The presence of...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceIdentifying and Predicting Novelty in Microbiome StudiesWe introduce two concepts to quantify the novelty of a microbiome. The first, the microbiome novelty score (MNS), allows identification of microbiomes that are especially different from what is already sequenced. The second, the microbiome attention score (MAS), allows identification of microbiomes that have many close neighbors, implying that considerable scientific attention is devoted to their study. By computing a microbiome focus...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyHigh-Affinity Chemotaxis to Histamine Mediated by the TlpQ Chemoreceptor of the Human Pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosaGenome analyses indicate that many bacteria possess an elevated number of chemoreceptors, suggesting that these species are able to perform chemotaxis to a wide variety of compounds. The scientific community is now only beginning to explore this diversity and to elucidate the corresponding physiological relevance. The discovery of histamine chemotaxis in the human pathogen ...
